Vison of Life...It speaks about my views towards what's happening around us, though many of the things represents Pune, a becoming Metro in Maharashtra,India yet most of us live in similar city life. In city day to day life all we face is problems around us; from traffic to water to slums to power supply & many more, but who has solutions? That's why the name
Vison of Life!
Sanjay Deshpande

Sunday, September 15, 2013

Amenity Space or Dumping Space!

“A city is not an
accident but the result of coherent visions and aims.”….Leon Krier

Léon Krier is an architect,
architectural theorist and urban planner. He is one of the first and most prominent critics
of the architectural modernism, mainly of its functional zoning and the
ensuring sub urbanism, campaigning for the reconstruction of the traditional
European city model. These ideas had a great influence on the new urban
development, both in the USA and Europe. And look at the simplest way he has described
a complex term like City! Unfortunately our country especially the so called
Metros in the country seems to turn a blind eye on such wise around the world
about urban planning.

What I like of
being an engineer as well developer is, despite all the negative comments about
the profession I am in, is there are so many things happening around with real
estate that if you keep your mind open then it’s never get bored with my
routine! Recently I came across two headlines about urban development, one was
about following Singapore pattern for city’s development & it was in
reference to Hon Urban Development Minister of Country, who said they will try
to follow what Singapore has done! Very good dream but there is a difference
between dream & aim! We mostly end up just dreaming & not aiming is
what I have observed about such statements!

Well what happens
at central Ministry level is too far from our Pune city, so let’s focus on
second news, which was about using of Amenity spaces for storage of materials
confiscated during encroachment action by our PMC. In short words making them
dumping yards! Many will wonder what significance of this news is &
how does it matters to city planning & things like that? For that we will
have to understand the concept or the term Amenity Space & then we will
realize its importance in city planning. An Amenity Space means an area
composed of on-site, common or private, indoor or outdoor space, designed for
active or passive recreational use. In simpler words it is a space i.e. piece
of land which is restricted for use to build infrastructural buildings for
large residential, commercial or public use projects. Its area which can be
used for activities which can be of use to the society or surrounding locality,
means Post office, Hospital, Market or Fire Brigade Office or a School &
the list is long. Any city requires many establishments for its day to day
needs & as the city keeps growing the needs to grows. Land is most scarce
commodity in today’s urban life so it is very important to put every available
piece of land for proper use. Keeping in this aspect in mind PMC has made it
mandatory for any development on land ad-measuring more than 40,000sq ft in
extended boundaries, to have 15% of such land reserved as Amenity Space. And this
land developer has to hand over to PMC which eventually was or is supposed to
use it for the above mentioned purposes. In a way a great thought but somehow
on one side it unjust with the developer as he has to give part of his land
& not getting TDR for that portion also the space for FSI utilization gets
reduced, which eventually becomes loading on the remaining land. More over the developer has to build a compound wall around this space & has to make such entry on 7/12 on PMC's name for ownership of the said land! Joke is on old
or existing PMC limit this wasn’t or isn’t the requirement unless the land is
more than approximately 3,00,000 sq ft i.e. 3 hectors! Which is right in a way
as when the development plan wasn’t ready this course of action was right, so
as the new area will have enough spaces for amenity purpose but once
development plan for this new area is in place I don’t understand what’s the
need of taking Amenity Space from every piece of land? As Development plan does
have all the necessary reservations for such infrastructure requirements of the
city!

Any ways there is
no argument in front of Govt so let’s stick to the fact of giving 15% of land
for Amenity Space but then whose responsibility is It to see that these spaces
gets used for the purposes they have been kept for? Joke is till now hundreds
of such Amenity Spaces are already in possession of PMC & yet to my
knowledge hardly any space has been actually put in use for any such building.

And now we read
the news that some of such spaces will be used by PMC to dump the material from
Encroachment action which PMC takes against illegal traders on roads! Well
nothing wrong as its PMC’s owned space & they can use it but had the rulers
thought that its Public ownership & the use should be strictly done
keeping that front in mind! We all know how the dumping of such material is
done & how filthy & shabby such dump yards eventually becomes! Was this
meant while acquiring Amenity Spaces? Who will be responsible for the
disturbance which the surrounding residents around such dumping yards will
face? And why no leaders in the PMC raise any voice for putting such spaces for
the use they have been reserved for? On one hand Govt cries foul for not having
enough money for infrastructural projects & on other hand they have
millions of rupees worth land in possession which are being used for dumping
material!

When our rulers
can hurriedly decide to use the reserved land for such useless purposes then
agreed, they have power & authority to do so but then why not use the same
power & authority for utilizing the land for many good purposes? This is
the question which comes to a common man like me. Right now the city is lacking
on many basic infrastructural fronts, for e.g. right from parking of
PMPML busses which presently at night are parked all along the roads to
good medical facilities across the city for the needy ones, many things this
city needs & on urgent basis. Why can’t PMC publish the proposed plan for
development of all the Amenity Spaces in its possession & start developing
it with the concerned developer itself? They can pay him directly or pay in
form of TDR for such construction. This will at least ensure the proper use of
the Amenity Space as well the city will get much needed infrastructural
facilities also!

And this issue is
very closely related to prices of real estate also, because home prices where
all the infrastructure is developed are very high & if we can utilize all
the Amenity Spaces for proper purpose then a balanced well distributed social
infrastructure will get developed all over the city; eventually helping the
prices of homes in & around the city also getting affordable to common man.
And for this there has to be strong awareness as well voice raising from all
the segment of the society, so as our rulers will have to listen it & do
something good about use of Amenity Spaces & do it fast! As Krier has said
a good city isn’t accident but outcome of a planned effort & every one of
us has a responsibility towards that effort to make it a good city or else we
don’t deserve to be citizen of our beloved city!

Remember today it’s Amenity
Space, tomorrow the whole city will become just a dumping place & then it
will be too late & we will have to blame ourselves only for that outcome!